101 adventures in time and space
by Millie 1985
Summary: Clara Oswald's nice orderly life was disrupted in the most explosive manner. Now the girl who always dreamed of travel is seeing more that she ever expected thanks to a big eared, two hearted alien that calls himself The Doctor. The ninth Doctor meets Clara first, AU.
1. Chapter 1

**101 adventures in time and space.**

 **Summary:** Clara Oswald's nice orderly life was disrupted in the most explosive manner. Now the girl that dreamed of travel is seeing more that she ever expected thanks to a big eared, two hearted alien that calls himself The Doctor.

 **AN1:** hey everyone, I think the only things you need to know before we start are 1)I picture Clara's Dad as the guy we saw in the flash backs not one the one from Christmas and 2) I chose to believe that the girl we saw with Clara in the grave yard was her friend Nina. So I'll leave you be for a while, happy reading.

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Doctor Who I can promise you that the whole hiatus thing would never have happened also Tom Baker would probably still be The Doctor, so maybe it's a good thing I am just a viewer.

 **Episode 1**

 **Clara part one**

As the sun rose over London's iconic streets hundreds of alarm clocks went off signalling the start of another day. From high rise council flats to grand gilded palaces the familiar screech filled many bedrooms and dragged their occupants into the world of the waking.

One of the alarms that rang out the loudest was in a nice semi detached house and belonged to a tiny brunet who woke with a start, jumping to silence the necessary evil that sat on her bedside table.

"Clara!" a gruff male voice echoed up the stairs "are you up yet?"

"Yes Dad!" the girl called back with a slightly exasperated sigh "I'm up".

Hopping out of bed Clara quickly began her morning routine knowing that her lift would be there soon, so she had to hurry. She only paused for a moment to glace up at a framed picture hanging on her wall. A beautiful woman not much older than herself beamed down on her.

"Morning Mum" Clara smiled softly at the woman she so adored, she reached out and ran her finger gently over the glass just above her mother's cheek.

Her Father chose that moment to holler up at her once more. "Clara, breakfast's out love".

"I'm on my way" she called back reassuringly as she pulled her hand away from her mother's photo.

"You know you don't have to make me breakfast every morning" Clara commented as she entered the kitchen, throwing her bag onto the nearby counter.

"of course I do what else is your old man good for now that your all grown up?" he teased lightly.

"lots of things" Clara shot back as she took a gulp of her tea "getting rid of spiders, changing light bulbs, that sort of thing" she smiled at him playfully.

The father daughter moment was disrupted by a loud and continuous honking coming from outside. "That's my ride" Clara announced bouncing to her feet. She grabbed her bag, kissed her Father's cheek, clenched a slice of toast in her teeth and raced out the door.

"Good morning Nina" Clara practically sang at the pretty girl that was sat in the driver's seat of a small red car.

"Christ Clara, how are you so cheerful this early in the morning?" Nina groaned.

"We're off to help shape young minds, how can I not be cheerful?" Clara answered almost gleefully.

Nina just shook her head at that. "You know we're not quite at the shaping young minds stage yet right?" she questioned playfully "we're still at the do whatever the teacher asks us to do stage".

Clara's smile fell very slightly, she and Nina were still doing their teacher training so they weren't actually teachers yet (as Nina had pointed out many times) but she still liked to think that they made a difference in the lives of the children in their care. "Yeah well, I still love it" she grinned at her friend.

"Me too" Nina agreed with a laugh. "Are we still on for lunch?" She checked as they pulled up at the school gates.

"Sure thing" Clara smiled at the girl who was more like her sister than her friend. "Its spag bol today, you know I wouldn't miss it. I'll meet you in the dining hall" she promised as she got out of the car.

Clara's day followed its usual busy paten; she hopped from class to class sometimes assisting small groups of children or even just one child, other times she held down the fort by supervising the whole class. The only real respite she got was her lunch time meeting with Nina and the other student teachers.

It had been made clear to all of the trainees that the staff room was as much for them as it was the fully qualified teachers but they had all found that they felt more comfortable spending their lunch time in the dining hall among their students, this was particularly true on the rare days that the dinner lady's served a meal that they all enjoyed such as spaghetti bolognaise.

Clara and Nina were the first to arrive in the dining hall and made sure that they secured a table big enough for the rest of their party who would soon join them.

Stories and laughter flew around the table as the young people shared their day as well as their food. Nina being the most sociable of the group had spent most of her lunch period arranging another meet up for later that night at the local pub.

"Are you in?" she questioned Clara as the two of them disposed of their plates.

"Can't sorry, I promised Mr Wilson I would help him set up those manikins from the museum they are arriving this afternoon" she explained.

"Teacher pet" Nina teased nudging Clara's shoulder with her own.

"Shut up" the smaller woman groaned "he's an old man, he needed help, you know that I'm like I couldn't say no" she sighed. Clara really was a soft touch she couldn't bear to watch people struggle not even grumpy old men like Mr Wilson.

Clara's afternoon continued as her morning had left off, busy but fulfilling. Finally the day ended and the halls emptied. Clara finished up the marking she had been assigned before going in search of Mr Wilson and his manikins.

Mr Wilson had told her that the dummies were going to be set up in the assembly hall and Clara wondered if the old guy could have possibly thought of anywhere creepier to house them. Normally the assembly hall was light, bright and lovely but at night with no one around Clara hated it and avoided it as much as she could.

Swallowing her irrational fear the young woman sighed and entered the huge room, she was surprised to find that it was full of already constructed manikins that were dressed in historical clothing. It looked like Mr Wilson hadn't needed her help after all.

The manikins were on loan from the local museum and were going to be used in the year 7 history lessons for the next few weeks. Clara was kind of glad that she wouldn't have to spend her evening building and dressing them like she had promised she would but she couldn't help feeling uneasy about the whole thing.

All around her stood immaculately made and dressed manikins but they shouldn't be ready yet. There was no way Mr Wilson could have finished them all by himself, it just wasn't possible.

"Mr Wilson" Clara called out for him "it's Clara, Clara Oswald, I came to help with the manikins" she continued talking as she walked further into the hall.

She stopped to examine one of the dummies that stood nearest her. It really was perfectly put together as were the next few she looked at, this was no rush job someone had taken great care with these manikins, Clara was sure of it. The only flaw she could find was that the hat that sat on the head of the very last manikin was very slightly crooked.

Sighing Clara reached out to straighten the head gear, "I guess he didn't need me after all" she said to herself as she tried to push her silly suspicions aside.

A sudden creaking noise made the girl freeze with her hand still in midair. "Hello" she called again "Mr Wilson is that you?" she didn't get a reply.

Clara liked to think she was both sensible and brave but she was suddenly very, very afraid. If someone had asked her she couldn't have told them what had tipped her over the edge from feeling slightly wary to being down right afraid but in that moment getting out of the hall felt like the best idea she had ever had.

She quickly dropped her still hovering hand and turned to march out of the room but she wasn't quite quick enough. She was almost at the door when the creaking started up again, it sounded much louder and closer this time. Against her better judgment Clara turned to look behind her and found herself really wishing she hadn't.

The manikins had started to move, there motions were jerky, like the zombies in old movies but they were defiantly moving. Not only were they moving but they were coming after her. Clara refused to freeze up, the backward steps that she was taking were smaller than she would have liked but at least she kept moving, even as she tried to deny what she was seeing with her own two eyes.

Manikins couldn't move on their own this had to be some sick joke, it just had to be. "Is this some kind of joke?" Clara demanded as she carried on moving backwards. "Nina is this you?" she yelled.

The tiny woman couldn't recall the last time she had been truly terrified but she had to fight the urge to cry when her back his solid wall instead of the door she had been aiming for.

The manikins just kept coming even though Clara now had nowhere to go. She could feel tears begin to leak from the corners of her eyes but she would not cry out.

"This is all just a sick joke, it's a sick joke, a sick, sick joke" she repeated over and over again but still the manikins kept up the jerky but relentless march towards her.

When her plastic stalkers were almost upon her Clara finally gave in and closed her eyes against them a moment later a hand came out of the darkness and grabbed hers, wrapping her small hand in a much larger defiantly male one. this strangers hand with its firm grip bought with it an odd feeling of peace, despite the situation she found herself in Clara felt far safer that she had just seconds ago.

Then came the word that would change Clara Oswald's life, just one word whispered into her ear and that word was "Run".

The one word command seemed to echo all around them. Suddenly Clara found herself being dragged from the room via the door she had attempted to reach earlier. Clara and her rescuer raced along one hallway and down another before they reached a heavy steel door.

The leather clad man who had been pulling Clara along release her hand so he could turn and slam the door behind them. He was quick but not quick enough, just before the door closed completely one of the manikins arms shot through the gap and made a grab for him. The mystery man reacted without so much as a pause, he pulled the arm clean off and threw it to Clara so he could use both hands to finally push the door closed.

"That's a fire door" Clara called out to him when she noticed his hand searching for the lock "it can only be locked from the office, hold it as long as you can" she ordered turning to run to the nearby admin office.

She had only gone a few steps when she heard an odd buzzing sound then the man ran past her taking her hand as he went.

"But the door" Clara gasped trying to keep up with his much larger strides.

"It's locked" he yelled to her without looking back.

Clara wanted to ask how but she didn't have the breath to get the words out. The tall fella pulled her along one more hallway before he let her stop for a moment.

"This has got to be a prank, it's the year 11's, it's got to be" Clara gasped looking down at the arm she was still carrying.

"Why?" he asked quizzically.

"Well you know" Clara sighed back.

"No" he persisted "you said a prank, specifically a year 11 one, why".

"Well it's nearly the end of the term and there are some real jokers among the year 11's this year, it makes sense they would come up with something like this instead of spending their last week setting of the fire alarms every chance they get" she explained as best she could.

"That dose makes sense" he agreed "it's well thought out even, well done" he complemented her.

"Thanks" Clara shot back "but this isn't a prank is it?" she asked softly.

"No, afraid not" the man told her regretfully. About a million questions exploded in Clara mind at the same time, she wanted answers but she got the feeling the guy who could give them to her was not going to hang around for long. She didn't know where to start until she remembered the arm she still held in her hand.

"You pulled its arm off" she stated.

"Yeah he's armless now" he grinned taking her free hand and pulling her along once more but moving at a much slower pace that he did before.

"Mr Wilson is going to get into so much trouble over all of this you know" she told him "The museum is probably going to sue him" she said wondering if he even cared about that.

"Na" the man shot back still grinning "You can't sue the dead not for another 300 years at least, they'll have to settle for suing his estate" he said in a matter of fact tone.

Clara froze in her tracks; her stop was so sudden that she actually pulled him to a stop as well. "Mr Wilson is dead?" she gasped felling sick. Mr Wilson wasn't exactly nice but she would never have wished him any harm and now he was dead.

"Almost certainly" the strange man agreed as he started to walk again dragging Clara along with him but this time she was struggling against his hold instead of just going with it like she had before.

"You don't know for sure?" she insisted "if there is a chance he is still alive we can't leave him here, not with those things" she cried.

"You can't always save everyone" he told her bitterly.

"So you just snag the nearest innocent, save them, take the win where you can and congratulate yourself on a job well done, is that it?" Clara demanded, she didn't know where all this was coming from, she knew she should be grateful that she was the one being saved but she couldn't stop the words spewing from her mouth, it was like someone else was speaking for her.

"Look" the man sighed but whatever he intended to say was drowned out by a sudden crash followed by a distant but familiar creaking.

"They got through" he warned quickly recapturing Clara's hand and breaking into a run yet again. Clara was not proud of it but in the rush to save herself she let Mr Wilson slip her mind just like the man she had been lecturing did.

Racing through the halls at a speed that would get them detention if they were students the two of the soon reached an exit and Clara found herself being all but thrown out off the door.

"Now" the man said from where he was stood in the doorway "I'm afraid I'm going to have to blow up your lovely little school" he told her using that matter of fact tone again.

"But-"Clara tried to interrupt but he didn't let her.

"I wouldn't tell anyone about this if I were you, probably get them killed, so go home and forget this ever happened" he ordered before slamming the door in her face.

In that moment stood alone in the school car park Clara's conscience came roaring back to life, there was a chance that Mr Wilson was still alive in there and Clara was not going to leave him to get blown to smithereens. "What about Mr Wilson?" she yelled running back towards the closed door.

Just as she was reaching for the handle the door swung open again making her jump back in alarm. Mr Wilson was hurled out of the door in much the same way as she herself had been just moments before.

The old man looked shocked and confused but otherwise unhurt.

"One Mr Wilson" her rescuer announced "Now what's your name?" he asked looking Clara directly in the eye for the first time.

"Clara, Clara Oswald" she answered truthfully without thinking, any other day she might have given him a fake name but he had just saved both her and Mr Wilson's lives so she was going to tell him the truth.

"Nice to meet you Clara Oswald, I'm the Doctor" he smiled at her pleasantly before it morphed into his now familiar manic grin "Now run for your life" he crowed showing her something that did look very much like a bomb and disappearing back inside.

"He won't really blow up the school surely" Clara said turning to where Mr Wilson had been stood only to find that the man wasn't there anymore. He seemed to have recovered from his shock quite quickly he was already across the car park and scrabbling to get into his car.

"Mr Wilson?" Clara called as she ran after him.

"We were never here" the old man told her firmly as he climbed into the car. "We didn't see any moving manikins and that man" he said pointing back at the school "he doesn't exist" he finished.

"You think he's really going to do it" Clara realized "you think he is really going to blow up the school" she gasped.

"I am old enough to know a warrior on a mission when I see one" Mr Wilson told her solemnly.

"And that's what you think he is, some sort of warrior" the young woman asked him disbelieving, sure the Doctor had saved them but he didn't seem very warrior like to her.

"He doesn't want to be" Mr Wilson said suddenly sound very sympathetic "He would never admit to it but yes that man is a warrior, a warrior in search of redemption and that is why you and I need to be careful"

Clara didn't know what to say to say for a moment but there was something she needed to know "Do you think he's dangerous?" she asked.

"I think he could be very dangerous if he chose to be" Mr Wilson admitted "but I also believe he has chosen to take on the role of protector over all others he could have taken".

"I don't understand" Clara confessed.

"Don't worry, I don't expect you to, not yet anyway" Mr Wilson reassured the young woman. "All you need to know right now is that he is as good as he is dangerous, that is the most important thing for you to remember, now go home Miss Oswald" He ordered "go home and keep yourself safe".

Clara had never seem Mr Wilson express so much emotion, he was known for his gruff exterior but as he left his concern for her seemed to be truly genuine. It was that more than the Doctors warning that sent her running for home.

She hadn't gotten far when a resounding boom filled the air and made the ground shake. Looking back the way she had come Clara could see the orangey glow of fire.

"Oh my stars" she gasped "he did it, he actually did it" part of her had been clinging to the hope that this whole night had had been either a stupid joke or a bad dream, she had never truly wanted to believe that any harm was going to come to her school but somehow deep down she had known the truth.

She had known that every word the Doctor spoke had been the truth and while she hadn't wanted to except it she had know her life had been in danger tonight, she could have died but she didn't she was saved by the Doctor. That was the last coherent thought she had until she found herself wrapped up in her Father's arms, she had no clear memory of how she got home, she was just very glad she had.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

Watching the news that night evening was not fun for Clara. Images of the smouldering heap that had been her work place dominated the screens. Truth be told she didn't really want to see what had become the building after she had run away from it but she didn't have the energy to get up and look for the remote or turn the channel manually.

Her Father had only just stopped hovering over her like a concerned mother hen, it had taken Clara an hour to convince him that she was fine and she was not about to undo all that hard work by admitting just how drained she really felt.

Dave Oswald had been fielding calls from worried relatives since just after Clara had raced through the front door. He was currently tied up with reassuring his sister Linda that his daughter was both alive and well. Clara couldn't help but feel sorry for him; she wondered how long it would take for her Aunt to come up with a way to make some money off of the nights events.

As if on cue Dave turned to her with a weary smile "sorry love" said "but Linda wants me to remind you her ex still works at the mirror, if you are interested in giving an interview she is sure he would make it worth your while".

Clara didn't even reply she just held her hand out for the phone. Dave paused before he handed it over knowing his Daughter and Sister were not exactly best buddies.

"Hi Aunt Linda" Clara spoke into the receiver sounding remarkably upbeat "bye Aunt Linda" she said just as cheerfully before hanging up on the annoying woman with a role of her eyes.

Such rude behaviour was not like Clara, normally she did her best to put up with Linda for her Father sake but she was hoping she could get away with reverting to a stroppy teenager given what she had just been through. Of course no one but Mr Wilson knew what she had really been through.

She waited for her Dad to reprimand her for her actions but instead he just gave her yet another cup of tea and turned the news off before sitting beside her.

"I know a news paper interview it a terribly idea" he said gently "but if you need to talk I'm here" he offered "I know I'm not your Mum but I like to think I have gotten pretty good at the whole girl talk thing over the years".

Clara laughed softly at that, she and her Father had been alone since she was 16 and honestly he had gotten very good at girl talk but that didn't change the fact that she couldn't take the risk of telling him the truth about the night's events. So she smiled brightly and lied to her Dad for the first time in years.

"I'm fine Dad" she said "I wasn't even there when it happened I was already on my way home".

Dave looked like he wanted to question her further but at that moment the phone began to ring and someone began to practically pound on the front door, the two Oswald's looked at one another and shared a laugh because they were pretty sure they know who was causing the two interruptions.

"I'll deal with Linda" Dave said reaching for the phone.

"And I've got Nina" Clara added as she got up to get the door.

"Oh My God Clara" Nina yelled pulling Clara into a hug as soon as she answered the door.

"Hey Nina" Clara managed to choke out, her friends tight grip made it hard to exhale never mind talk clearly.

"You could have died, like been legitimately dead" the taller woman babbled as Clara detangled herself and led her friend into the front room.

"I'm fine Nina" Clara lied again flopping back onto the sofa.

"Are you sure?" Nina questioned in a tone that suggested that she didn't believe Clara for a moment.

"I'm alright honest" Clara insisted "Now, do you want tea?" she offered getting up and heading out to the kitchen. In the hallway she passed her Father who was once again dealing with his Sister.

"Are you interested in compensation Clara?" He asked more to appease Linda than anything else. Clara just shook her head and started to make tea for her and Nina.

"Oh no" said Nina squeezing passed poor Mr Oswald "you are not drinking tea, you need something stronger than that, you're coming back to the pub with me. Come on get your coat" she insisted trying to pull her friend towards the door.

"I'm fine with tea" Clara reassured "tea fixes everything" she said reciting something that her mother had said hundreds of times over the years.

"But you deserve a real drink" Nina nearly pouted.

"Just how cute is he?" Clara sighed.

"Who?" Nina asked in a very poor attempt at playing dumb.

"The guy you left at the pub to come and check on me" Clara clarified.

"I was just thinking of you, getting out and being with friends would help get over your shock" Nina tried to defend herself but she could help looking slightly guilty.

"I'm not in shock" Clara told her firmly "so who is it?" she pressed.

"Mickey" Nina admitted with a grown.

"Mickey Smith?" Clara asked she couldn't pretend she wasn't surprised. The last she had heard their mutual friend had been hung up on their other best friend Rose. The two of them had a thing a while back and no one seemed clear on whether it was over or not. "What about Rose, is she OK with this?"

"She's the one that set us up" Nina grinned shyly "She told me to make a move before someone else did".

Despite all that had happened that evening Nina's news still excited Clara, she always thought that Mickey and Nina would make a really cute couple. "Someone might be moving in on him right now you know?" she teased her friend. "You better get back there".

"But what about you? I can't just leave you Clara" Nina said trying to sound firm but failing miserably.

"Yes you can" Clara shot back "now go before I decide to make a move myself" she said wiggling her eyebrows at the other girl.

"OK, OK" Nina laughed at Clara's antics "enjoy your tea" she called before disappearing out of the door and leaving Clara alone with her thoughts.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

The next morning when Clara awoke the first thing she noticed was that her room was already filled with sunlight and the second was that her alarm had not gone off. Rolling over she found a post it note stuck to the normally offensive device. She smiled at her Fathers easily recognisable scrawl.

 **Morning love,**

 **I turned off your alarm. No point getting up early, you have no work to go to after all. Get some rest; I'm sure you need it after all of last night's excitement.**

 **Lots of love Dad**

 **P.S stay off the internet, something's going on there. Trust me on this one.**

Clara sighed as she read the P.S. Ever since her Mother had died her Dad had become a bit of a conspiracy nut. He believe all sorts of things that most people thought were crazy. Clara had always humoured him but she had never had much faith in his theories. She might have to change her stance on some of them in light of recent events.

Getting ready at a leisurely pace was a slightly odd experience for Clara. She never seemed to have much time to herself, even at the weekend she had obligations to fulfil. She was tutor and general babysitter to her next door neighbour's kids, Angie and Artie. They were sweethearts most of the time but still hard work. Sometime Mr and Mrs Maitland would go away for the weekend leaving Clara in charge, those weekend were particularly difficult for the young woman.

Clara really wasn't used to not having anything to do. She drank tea and watched bad daytime TV for a while but it couldn't hold her attention for long. She was debating disregarding her Father's warning and booting up her laptop in search of entertainment when a sudden noise distracted her.

It was a strange sort of scuttling noise but no matter where she looked Clara couldn't find the source of it. She was cautiously approaching the front door in hopes of finding some kind of explanation when the letter box suddenly flapped open making her jump clear off the ground.

Scolding herself for over reacting Clara lifted the flap to prove to herself that there was nothing out there. When she peered through the slot and found herself looking into a pair of inquisitive eyes she jumped once again.

Feeling agitated Clara wrenched the door open intending to give her visitor a piece of her mind but when she saw who it was all of the fight went out of her.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor demanded from his spot on her doorstep.

"I live here" Clara shot back crossing her arms over her chest, seen as he was here she was determined to get some answers out of him.

"Well what do you do that for?" he asked seeming genuinely puzzled

"Why did you blow up my school?" Clara answered his question with one of her own.

"Must have gotten the wrong signal" The Doctor muttered acting as if she hadn't spoken at all "your not plastic are you?" he asked before poking her small up turned nose with his rather large finger.

"Oi" Clara yelled covering her now sore nose with one of her hands.

"No, bone head" The Doctor verified "Bye then" he grinned at her before turning to leave.

"Oh no" Clara called after him grabbing the hand he had been waving at her and pulling him through the door, once they were both inside she slammed it behind them.

"I have questions and you're going to answer them" she told him firmly.

"Oh am I?" The Doctor asked with a raised brow.

"Yes you are" Clara said in her best I'm a teacher don't mess with me voice.

The Doctor stared at her for a long moment before giving a slight nod that Clara took as her cue to start question of him. "Why did you blow up my school" she said re-asking her first question.

"It was the only way to stop the Autons" he answered quickly.

"Autons, you mean the manikins" Clara clarified

"The manikins became Autons when they became animated, they weren't just plastic anymore they were living plastic" The Doctor explained. "They were being controlled by a device in the school which would have been a problem if I didn't have my handy dandy bomb with me, I don't like having to carry them with me, they are horrible, destructive things but it seems they have their uses from time to time".

"So you blow up the school and that stops the Autons, like they're gone for good" Clara asked warily.

The Doctor shrugged at that one and Clara got the impression there was something he really didn't want to tell her. "I want a full explanation" she told him as she led the way to the front room. "Do you want tea?" she asked more out of habit than anything else. She wasn't sure why but she had believed every word that had come out of The Doctors mouth so far and she was sure that if she could just keep him talking then he would carry on telling the truth.

"Might as well" The Doctor sighed realising that his half truth routine was not going to work with this sharp little earth girl. "Just milk" he added as an afterthought.

Clara left The Doctor to his own devices while she made what felt like her hundredth round of tea in the last few days. She could hear The Doctor chattering away to himself in the next room but she missed most of what he said. She came back into the room just in time to hear him commenting on the size of his ears.

"Well I wasn't going to mention it" she smiled at him as she put the teas down "but you do have a fine pair of ears there, can you fly with them" she asked cheekily.

"No, ears don't make you fly" he told her flatly "I told Walt that over and over again but did he listen to me, noooo, of course not".

Clara was about to ask what The Doctor was on about when she heard the noise from earlier again.

"Did you hear that?" The Doctor asked looking around the room.

"Yeah" said Clara doing the same "I have been hearing it on and off all morning" she explained. "What do you think it is?" she asked looking back to The Doctor, only to find him pretending that the plastic arm she had accidently bought home last night was strangling him.

"I thought Dad said he was getting rid of that" she sighed with a roll of her eyes. "OK, you've had your fun, now I want my explanation" Clara said getting exasperated when The Doctor didn't stop his pretend play.

If the situation wasn't so serious she probably would have laughed at The Doctor's antics. He was really investing in his performance, his desperation looked real. Suddenly a horrible thought hit the young woman as she watched the man continue to struggle with the plastic arm.

"Living plastic" she gasped stepping closer to the Doctor. His frantic nodding told her that she was on the right track.

Without thinking Clara rushed to The Doctors side, she tried desperately to dislodge the arm but no matter how hard she pulled it wouldn't budge. Eventually she resorted to placing her foot on The Doctor's stomach so she could push off of him to gain some leverage. It must have been uncomfortable for the man but she was more concerned with keeping him alive than his comfort.

One particularly vigorous tug finally freed The Doctor and Clara felt an immense rush of relief but it was short lived because the hand turned its attention to her. It flew through the air and attached itself to her face. She managed to struggle blindly against it for only a moment before she lost her footing and stumbled backwards onto the sofa.

Even sprawled on her back Clara continued to struggle but she could already feel herself weakening due to lack of oxygen, the hand was covering both her nose and her mouth. Thankfully The Doctor intervened before the situation got any worse.

Clara heard the same strange buzzing noise as she had yesterday in the school and suddenly she could breathe again. She sat gasping and watched as The Doctor rammed a small silver tube with a blue light into the palm of the hand. Its fingers twitched erratically for a moment before freezing all together.

"What is that?" she pointed at the device in his hand.

"Sonic screwdriver" he told her matter of factly "disrupts the signal, its fine now" he grinned tossing the arm at Clara, who reflexively dodged it "See armless again".

"It may be" Clara seethed, that joke wasn't even funny the first time he made it. "But I'm not" she punched him hard in the shoulder to prove her point.

After hamming up his injury and refusing to give Clara any more information The Doctor left, taking the arm with him. He expected to make a clean get away but Clara was not giving up so easily. She followed him out of the house and down the road yelling after him the whole time.

"Hey you can't just wander off" she said watching him confidently stride along.

"Yes I can, this is me wandering off" he told her.

"But what about the plastic?" Clara was cursing her short legs as she tried to keep up with The Doctor "I know you said not to but we have to start warning people, don't we?"

That stopped The Doctor in his tracks, he stood still for just a moment then spun around and marched back to the perceptive young woman. He wasn't sure if she was impressing him or annoying him yet, the next few minutes would decide that. "Why would they need warning?" he asked.

"Plastic is everywhere and if it's going to start attacking people then they need to know" she stated resolutely "and don't tell me that there's no threat" she continued before The Doctor could say anything. "You disrupted the signal going to that arm, that mean's destroying the school didn't stop it all together. The signal is still going on and as long as it is then every piece of plastic is dangerous" she concluded.

"Your good" The Doctor couldn't have contained his grin if he had tried.

"Thank you, now warning people, why aren't we?" she asked shortly.

"Because threats are always easier to handle without mass panic" he told her simply.

"OK" Clara nodded; she had to admit she could see where he was coming from on that one. "But can you handle it?" she asked feeling genuinely concerned for the strange man that had stumbled into her life.

"Of course I can" he dismissed her worry.

"So you are going to face off with whatever is turning plastic murderous all alone, who is that by the way?"

"Yes just me and it's a long story" he answered both of her questions as quickly and honestly as he could.

"Isn't there anyone that can help you?" it was on the tip of Clara's tongue to offer to help him herself, if he had no one else.

"I don't need help I'm fine by myself" he almost snapped at her.

"So while your off single handily saving the world is this killer plastic going to keep coming after me?" she snapped back at him. She was trying to act brave but The Doctor could see the fear in her eyes and couldn't help but taking pity on her.

"Oh so the world suddenly revolves around you dose it?" he asked in his most teasing tone. "You were an accident, you got in the way that's all" he reassured her.

"Really?" Clara asked hopefully.

"Really" The Doctor confirmed. "It was after me not you. Last night at the school I was there, you wandered in and nearly ruined the whole thing. This morning I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on you was because you met me" he explained.

"So the whole world really revolves around you?" Clara smiled feeling a lot better.

"Sort of yeah" he grinned.

"You're pretty full of yourself aren't you?"

"Sort of yeah" The Doctor replied again grinning even bigger.

Sadly the moment of levity passed and Clara's forehead once again creased in concern "why would someone do this" she asked softly "more importantly how are they doing it" she added as an afterthought.

"Well it's not a price war" The Doctor told her brightly, for some reason he wanted to keep the smart young woman smiling. "Their not aiming to take over Britton's shops".

"Doctor" Clara protested at his horrible jokes.

"Thought control" he told her no longer beating around the bush. "The thing controlling the plastic projects life into it, cut off the signal like I did with this" he held up the hand that had attacked them "and there dead. As to why, they want to over throw the human race and destroy you" he finished solemnly.

Clara looked completely shocked but also strangely accepting. "Do you believe me?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't want to" she said shakily.

"But here you are still listening" he pointed out.

"Who are you really Doctor?" Clara asked in a small sad voice "why are you so alone?"

"Do you know like we were saying about the earth revolving?" he asked she just nodded in return. "The first time someone tells you the worlds turning, you just can't quite believe it because everything. I can feel it" he told her taking her hand as if to share his experience with her. "The turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven miles an hour, and I can feel it. We are falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world and if we let go" he let go of Clara's hand so quickly that she stumbled slightly.

"That's who I am" The Doctor told her seriously "now forget me Clara Oswald, go home" he ordered firmly before softening slightly "go home and trust me to keep your planet safe".

Clara found that as much as she wanted to leave she just couldn't make her legs move, she watched as the Doctor sauntered away. It wasn't until he was around the corner and out of sight that she turned to go back home. She had only gone a few steps when an odd wheezing noise filled her air.

To Clara The Doctor and strange sounds seemed to go hand in hand. She ran back to where she had last seen him but no matter how hard she looked she could not find him anywhere. Clara knew she should listen to the Doctor and stay out of trouble but she had never been good at following orders, her Dad put it down to her being a little bit of a control freak.

Then and there she vowed she was going to find out everything there was to know about the mysterious Doctor.

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AN2: OK guys here are a few things you might want to know as we go ahead with this story. As I'm sure you noticed this chapter is very long and also only half an episode (there is more to come I promise), believe it or not it has taken me 6 months to get to this point, so we are in for the long haul on this one I'm afraid.

I know that at this moment this is a Clara instead of Rose story but I have no intention of it staying that way. Rose is too important in the Doctors life to not make an appearance so Rose fans don't worry, she's coming. I think that's all the important things covered.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think and see you soon Millie xXx


	2. Chapter 2

**101 adventures in time and space**

 **Summary:** Clara Oswald's nice ordinary life was disrupted in the most explosive manner. Now the girl that dreamed of travel is seeing more than she ever expected thanks to a big eared, two hearted alien that calls himself The Doctor.

AN1: so, I have finally come back to this story. I actually have a reason for being gone for so long and for once I think it might be a good one. I have all of episode 1 written out, it took me six months and one and a half note books but I did it and then I lost one of the note books. I have just recently found it again so here I am, back again. I hope you enjoy my reimaging of this awesome episode because I had so much fun with it. Anyway, happy reading to you all.

* * *

 **Episode 1**

 **Clara part 2**

Clara had only been home for a few minutes before she was overcome by her curiosity. Sitting down at the laptop she decided that what her Father didn't know wouldn't hurt him or her. Of course, her Dad chose that moment to phone her. She had just been about to connect the Wi-Fi when the phone beside her rang loudly making her jump.

"Hello" Clara answered quickly eager to get on with her research on The Doctor. Truth be told she preferred books over the internet, computers weren't really her thing but she knew how to use a search engine when the need arose.

"Clara" her Dad's cheerful voice echoed down the line "how are you feeling love?"

"I'm good thanks, how are you?" she replied distractedly, she noticed the computer screen was filling with odd symbols that she didn't recognise. She must have clicked on the wrong Wi-Fi box when she jumped.

"You know, the same as always" Dave answered sounding a bit suspicious but Clara was too distracted to notice. It was her distraction was what tipped off him that something wasn't right "so what are you up too?" he questioned his daughter.

"Oh-em- just stuff" now Dave knew something was up, Clara couldn't lie to save her life, at least not to him.

"Stuff, sounds interesting, what stuff?" he pressed.

"You know, stuff" Clara shot back defensively.

"How long have you been on the internet Clara?" Dave sighed, he was pretty sure that disregarding his request about the internet was what was putting the guilty tone in his little girl's voice.

"I'm not actually on it yet" she admitted "it's still loading"

"Turn it off Clara" her Dad ordered before adding a "please" as an afterthought.

"I'm shutting it down now" Clara reassured him. Being a bit sneaky and using the computer without his knowledge was one thing but openly defying her Father felt like a completely different matter, besides he sounded genuinely concerned.

"Unplug it too" he said firmly.

"It's the laptop Dad, it's not actually plugged into anything at the moment" she smiled softly at how over protective he could be.

"Not the computer, the Wi-Fi" Dave explained.

"OK" Clara frowned but did as he asked.

"Promise me you won't turn it all back on as soon as I hang up" her dad insisted.

"OK, OK, I promise" Clara knew when he got like this it was best to just agree.

"No using other people's computers either" Dave insisted. He knew his daughter well enough to know that if she could find a way around her promise based on the wording, she would. He also knew that if anyone could twist words in their favour it was his Clara, she was training to be an English teacher after all.

"I swear I won't so much as touch a computer all day, are you happy now?" Clara gently teased.

"For now," her dad told her, he would work on getting her to extend the length of time her promise covered later. "I have got to get back to work love, I just wanted to check in on you" Dave said regretfully.

"Don't worry about me Dad, I'm fine" Clara smiled down the phone "have a good day".

"You too love, you too" her father said before hanging up on her.

Clara looked at the phone in her hand for a moment before dialling a very familiar number. She got an answer after only a few rings "Hello" came the groggy voice of her best friend.

"Hello Nina" Clara greeted with her usual cheer.

"Christ Clara, do you ever lie in?" Nina complained.

"Nina it's eleven o'clock" Clara laughed down the line at her friend, If Nina had her way she would never get out of bed.

"It's not like I have a job to go to" Nina huffed finally seeming to be properly awake "what can I do for you this morning" she asked.

"I need to do some research and I was wondering if you could help me?" Clara explained.

"Is your internet acting up again?" Nina questioned, the Oswald's never seemed to have much luck when it came to internet connectivity.

"Something like that" Clara answered vaguely as she cast a look at the disconnected Wi-Fi "so can I come over" she asked.

Nina's answer was somewhat hesitant "yeah, you can but I'm not actually at home right now" she said.

"Where are you?" Clara asked suspiciously.

"Mickey's flat" Nina admitted in a rush.

"Oh, My Stars!" Clara practically squealed "you really do like him, don't you?" She was so excited for her friend. Nina didn't do relationships, she would flirt up a storm and maybe share a kiss or two but that was as far as she would let things go.

"Yeah I do" Nina replied and Clara could hear the smile in her friend's voice. "Come on over" the woman invited "I'm sure Mickey won't mind".

Clara didn't need to be asked twice, she grabbed her coat and practically ran out of the door, she was eager to get on with her research but for the moment she was more excited to see how her friends interacted as a couple. She had always thought that the two of them would be well matched but she didn't think they would ever find their way to each other, thankfully she was wrong.

Mickey's Flat was on the nearby Powel estate, growing up that was where most of Clara's friends lived. She had probably spent more of her childhood on the estate than anywhere else, she and her mother both had friends there.

Clara, Nina and their friend Rose Tyler had been inseparable for a long time, even though Rose was a couple of years younger than the other two girls. The three of them fit together so well that their friendship just seemed inevitable.

Ellie Oswald's friendship with Jackie Tyler -Rose's mother- was another matter altogether. Neither woman really liked the other much to begin with. Jackie thought that Ellie was full of false airs and graces while Ellie had worried that Jackie and Rose might somehow have a negative effect on the young Clara. Both women had been genuinely surprised by just how badly they had misjudged each other when they finally took the time to get to know one another. Their relationship had taken longer to form that that of their daughters but it was just as strong.

Eventually Ellie and Jackie had become as close as sisters, the women and their children considered themselves part of the others family, so much so that it was Jackie that Clara had run to for comfort when she had learnt her mother was dying. Clara had no doubt that without Jackie she and her father would not have made it through the loss of Ellie.

In the years that followed Jackie had become the closest thing to a mother that Clara had. Adopting strays into her family was something that came naturally to Jackie Tyler. So far, she had claimed Mickey, Clara and Nina, they all had families of their own, loving ones at that but their friendship with Rose and Jackie was something they all treasured. They were proud to call themselves honorary Tyler's.

It didn't take Clara long to get to Mickey's flat but during the walk she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. It wasn't a pleasant feeling but it quickly washed away when she saw Mickey's smiling face. He answered the door mere seconds after she had knocked on it.

"Your ladyship" he greeted her using Jackie's nickname for her.

"Himself" Clara smiled doing the same in return. Mickey pulled Clara into a quick hug before shutting the door and calling out to Nina.

"Woman, get your kit on, Clara's here" he bellowed

"Your terrible" Clara laughed at the younger man as he led down the hallway towards the front room.

"That's why you like me" he shot back with a cheeky grin.

"No" came a voice from his bedroom door way "that's why I like you" Nina leaned over to kiss Mickeys cheek "Clara loves your lost puppy quality"

"Oh' she does, does she" Mickey asked at the same time as Clara protested.

"I do not"

"Sorry Clara, I'm off the market" Mickey teased, he knew that Clara had never liked him like that but loved to wind her up whenever he got the chance. "I have nothing to offer you but coffee"

"Wash the cup, make it tea and I'll take you up on that" Clara excepted his teasing good naturedly.

"She means wash not just rinse" Nina called out as her boyfriend made his way to the kitchen "I should probably go and make it for you" she told Clara with a role of her eyes "you know what guys are like".

"No" Clara told her firmly "I need you with me" she said pulling the girl back into the room she had just come out of, she knew that Mickey kept his computer in his bedroom. "We OK to use your computer Mickey?" she yelled out as an afterthought.

"Two pretty girls in my bedroom, how can I say no?" he shouted back.

"Oi, watch it Mick or one of these Pretty girls won't come back again" Nina warned him playfully.

While Mickey pottered around in the kitchen Clara multitasked by both filling Nina in on the situation with the Wi-Fi and pumping her for information on her and Mickey' relationship.

Nina was a bit worried that Mr Oswald was going off the deep end again, just like he had when Clara's mum had died, back then everything was some sort of conspiracy or another and even the simplest of accidents or any slightly odd experience had alien origins.

"So, let me get this straight, you promised not to touch your computer for the rest of the day to appease your dad because he thinks the Wi-Fi is somehow dangerous" Nina clarified.

"That's right" Clara agreed "he also made me promise not to use any one else's computer" she explained.

"so why are you here asking to use Mickey's computer?" Nina asked with a frown, it wasn't like Clara to break a promise.

"Because I'm not going to use or touch the computer" Clara said was a sly grin.

"Oh" Nina gasped as she caught on "you're not but I am".

Working together the two girls began their search for this Doctor that Clara was so determined to find, and true to her world Clara never once touched the computer. They had a few false starts before they found any promising leads but Nina was secretly quite pleased about that because the more frustrated Clara became the less she asked about her and Micky. It wasn't that she wanted to keep anything from her friend but everything with her and Mickey was still so new and she wanted to protect it for a little while, she knew that Clara would completely understand where she was coming from and support her but with the other girl so distracted it was nice to be speared having to explain herself or her actions.

Finally, the girls found what they were looking for, at least they thought they did but the information was limited, apparently if they wanted to know more they would have to meet the guy who ran the sight in person. Nina didn't like that idea but Clara had the bit between her teeth now and there was no stopping her once her mind was made up.

Even Micky tried to talk her out of the meeting but she reassured both of her friends that she would be fine. According the emails that he and Clara had exchanged via Nina his name was Clive and he was a happily married man with kids.

The couple argued their case for nearly an hour but Clara wasn't having any of it, her curiosity had been spiked and now she needed answers. Eventually she agreed to somewhat of a compromise, Mickey and Nina would drop her off, she would keep in contact with them and the three of them would meet up for dinner nearby once she was done. Clara felt a bit like an over protected child but she knew her friends meant well so she would go along with them, if only so they wouldn't tell her dad on her.

At four o'clock on the dot Clara was delivered to Clive's doorstep.

"Do you want us to wait" Mickey asked her one more time.

"I'll be fine" Clara promised "I will call you as soon as I'm out, now go shop and kiss or something" she smiled brightly trying to reassure the couple as best she could.

Nina and Mickey didn't like leaving Clara but they both knew her well enough to know she wasn't going to give in. so they settled for only going as far as the nearest shopping centre and biding their time until they got a call from her.

Clara waited until her friends were out of sight before making her way up the steps of Clive's house and knocking the door. She really hopped that he could give her some answers. Sadly, it turned out that Mickey and Nina were right about him, not that he was some creepy serial killer but that he was slightly nuts.

Clara was pretty sure that Clive was what her father could have become if he hadn't gotten his obsession with conspiracy theories under control.

As soon as she was back out on the street Clara sent a text to Nina _Ok, so you were right, he's nuts, see you soon._

 _Meet us at the food court, dinner's on us._ Came the almost instant reply making Clara smile.

Not far away Nina came out of a changing room with her phone in hand looking for her boyfriend. She had left him in the main store with his arms full of cloths only a few minutes ago, but she couldn't she him anywhere. After looking around for a while a manikin towards the back of the store caught her attention. It looked scarily like Mickey, it was even holding the same pile of cloths that she had forced into his arms.

"that's not possible" she mumbled to herself as she reached out to touch the manikin's smooth cheek. Suddenly the plastic figures once lifeless eyes sparkled with life and zeroed in on the woman in front of him.

His hand shot out grabbing her outstretched arm. Nina opened her mouth to scream but the manikin was too quick for her and she never managed to make a peep.

* * *

 **AN2:** hello again everyone, this episode was meant to only be two chapters but it just got too long so expect another chapter either later today or next weekend, depending on how fast I type. So, I know some people will be unhappy that I broke up Mickey and Rose so I am going to address my reason for that here. As much as I love Rose as a character, I was never a fan of how she treated Mickey, he obviously felt more for her that she did him and that's OK, some times that happens in relationships but she never seemed to treat him like she cared at all (at least not in a romantic way) and with Mickey being such a sweetheart I wanted to give him someone who was just as mad about him as he is about her. As I said before and hinted in this chapter Rose is still going to play a big role in both this story and the Doctors life so just because she is not Mickey's girlfriend or the first human to find a place with the post war Doctor that doesn't mean she is not coming, because I promise you she is. So, now the longest AN ever is over, I would love to know what you think, feedback of any kind good or bad makes my day.

Thanks for reading

Millie xXx


	3. Chapter 3

**101 adventures in time and space**

 **Summary:** Clara Oswald's nice ordinary life was disrupted in the most explosive manner. Now the girl that dreamed of travel is seeing more than she ever expected thanks to a big eared, two hearted alien that calls himself The Doctor.

AN1: hello everyone, I feel the need to warn you that this is a mammoth chapter. I don't know how long future chapters will be but I have had this story in my head for so long that I just really needed to get this episode finished so I could move onto the next one. I hope the length of the chapter doesn't bother you and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Happy reading.

* * *

 **Episode 1**

 **Clara part 3**

It didn't take Clara long to reach the agreed upon meeting place. Nina was already seated waiting for her but there was no sign of Mickey.

"Hello Nina" the young woman greeted her friend as she slid into the seat opposite her "where's Mickey?" she asked looking around.

"I don't want to talk about Mickey" Nina said in a strangely emotionless voice.

"You guys didn't have a fight, already did you?" Clara worried.

"I want to talk about The Doctor" Nina explained still in that odd tone of voice.

"The Doctor?" Clara asked quizzically, she had finally come to realize something was very wrong with Nina "there's nothing to talk about" she dismissed.

"I think there is" Nina pressed "I think you are in danger and it's all because of him".

Clara didn't know what was going on but she was sure of one thing the woman sat with her was not Nina. Every instinct in Clara's body was screaming at her to run but she had seen enough monster movies to know that never works out too well. The best course of action open to her seemed to be to playing dumb and hoping against hope she could find her way out of trouble.

"Look Nina" Clara smiled tightly, trying to act as normally as possible "I appreciate your concern, I really do but there is nothing to worry about. I am over the whole Doctor thing" she promised "now where is Mickey?" she asked changing the subject.

"Right here" came Mickey's voice from behind her and for a moment Clara was relieved, that was until he took a seat and she could see he was just as glassy eyed, shiny skinned and emotionless as his girlfriend.

"You have got to trust us Clara" Mickey said taking one of her hands in a vice like grip.

"We want you to be safe" Nina added, grabbing Clara's other hand and imprisoning her in her seat.

"I am safe" Clara insisted as she discreetly tried to pull her hands free "The Doctor is just a strange guy who crossed my path, that's all, no danger there" she made it sound like she was reassuring them but really, she was trying to convince them she was of no use to them on their Doctor hunt.

"Champagne for the table" a kind gentleman offered behind her and Clara cringed at the danger he had unwittingly put himself in.

"No thank you" she answered curtly, not taking her eyes off the couple sharing her table.

"Now Clara" the fake Nina almost scolded "it's not nice to lie to your friends, buddies, chums, pals" she seemed to glitch at the end of the sentence unable to choose just one word to describe the relationship Clara shared with the real Nina and Mickey.

"What about you love" the champagne man cut in yet again, this time he was talking to fake Nina.

"No" Nina snapped without looking up.

Clara wished the guy would just leave before he got hurt. She was still holding out hope that she could talk her way out of this somehow but him and his champagne didn't stand a chance.

"You are going to tell us everything you know about The Doctor" fake Mickey demanded dropping his friendly pretence and tightening his grip on Clara's wrist to the point of pain.

Clara gasped and redoubled her efforts to get her hands lose but she said nothing, there wasn't much she could have told them but she wasn't going to give them even the little bits of information she did know.

"Does no one want this champagne?" the man asked finally losing his patience with them. Clara had to wonder just where he had gotten the champagne in the first place, it wasn't usually served and the food court and why he was so desperate to get rid of it.

"Look, we don't want it" Mickey practically yelled up at the man, taking his eyes off of Clara for the first time since he sat down. His whole demeanour seemed to change as he looked up at the interloper, he became almost gleeful.

"Doctor" the fake Mickey grinned and released Clara's hand so that he could make a grab for the man in the leather jacket.

"The one and only" The Doctor confirmed as he side-stepped fake Mickey, shaking the bottle he held vigorously as he did so "cheers" he grinned that manic smile of his as he let the cork fly at fake Mickey's head.

While the Doctor was busy with fake Mickey Clara dealt with fake Nina, she snatched up the nearest sharp object, a shiny metal fork and stabbed it into the hand holding her captive. Even though it sank deeply into her hand the fork didn't seem to hurt fake Nina, she did however let go of Clara in order to pull it out. Clara seized the opportunity to jump to her feet and head to the nearest point of safety, which for some reason seemed to be The Doctor.

When Clara reached the Doctors side he was wrestling with the fake Mickey and the fake Nina was fork free and coming after her, things did not look good.

Clara pulled the chairs out from under the nearest tables and threw them between her and fake Nina "Doctor do something" she yelled fearfully, the chairs were buying her very little time as fake Nina's hands had turned into long flat paddles that could easily push obstacles out of her way.

"I'm trying" The Doctor called back as he pulled fake Mickey head clean off. For a moment, Clara thought that would stop them but the Mickey head just carried on talking while his body began to flail around. Fake Nina didn't even spare her companion a glace, she just kept coming after Clara.

Taking the fake man's head may not have stopped him but apparently, it was enough for The Doctor because seconds later he had hold of Clara's hand and was trying to pull her towards the nearest exit. Clara snatched her hand back long enough to push the now headless Mickey double so hard that he stumbled back into fake Nina causing them both to hit the ground. She also broke the glass on the first fire alarm she saw, the food court was already evacuating but she didn't want to risk anyone getting too close to the fake version of her friends, there was no telling what would happen to them if they did.

Once she had finished setting off the alarm Clara notice that instead of joining the mass of people rushing down the stairs and away from the fight, The Doctor was almost sauntering towards the door that led to the indoor car park. For a moment, the girl weighed her options, she could escape by blending in with the crowds of people making their way out and leave The Doctor to his own devices or she could follow him and probably get herself into more trouble than she already was.

Clara wasn't sure why but when she heard fake Nina coming, she chose The Doctor and raced off after him at full pelt. Clara caught up just as The Doctor passed through the door that led to the car park, when it closed behind them she threw herself against it to keep it that way.

"Doctor use that sonic screwdriver thing, lock the door" she yelled after the rapidly departing man.

"How did you know it locks doors?" he asked, turning back to look at her.

"You locked the fire door with it last night, didn't you?" Clara huffed at him.

"Yes, I did" The Doctor confirmed, once again flashing her that manic smile of his. Clara was beginning to think that smile meant she had pleased or impressed him but seen as she was also beginning to think he was completely insane she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Well lock the door then" she insisted knowing that fake Nina couldn't be far behind them.

"Nah" The Doctor said pointing off to the side "tell you what, let's go in here instead" Clara looked over to where he had pointed and noticed the old blue police box for the first time.

"Doctor I don't think that's a good idea" she called but it was too late The Doctor had already gone inside. Reluctantly Clara gave up barricading the door and rushed after him. "Doctor we can't hide in a wooded box" she panicked. "Doctor those plastic things are going to get us" she cried pounding on the wooden doors in hope The Doctor would come out and somehow save the day.

Behind her Clara heard the door she had been guarding slam open, she didn't need to look back to see who it was, she knew it was the fakes, she could hear the odd creaking nose she had come to associate with the living plastic. Deciding that some protection was better than none, Clara pushed the door open and hurried inside.

"They're going to follow-"Clara trailed off as she took in the immense room around her, the tiny wooden box was huge on the inside. How was that possible? "us" the astonished girl finally managed to finish her sentence in a lost sounding whisper.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door and believe me they have tried" The Doctor reassured her breezily as he placed fake Mickey's head on the large console that took up the centre of the room.

"Now shut up a minute" he ordered her connecting the head to a mass of wires.

Clara however could not stay quiet, she was shocked and scared and when Clara Oswald was scared she babbled "It's bigger on the inside" she gasped "actually bigger"

"Yes" The Doctor agreed "now shush, you see the arm was too simple but the heads perfect. I can use it to track back to the original source" he explained before turning his full attention back to the girl who was still stood frozen by the door. "Right where do you want to start?" he asked her.

"It's bigger on the inside" Clara muttered more to herself than him as she finally moved away from the door and further into the room.

"Yessss" The Doctor said drawing the word out as though she were a child "we already covered that one, next?".

"It's alien" Clara's tone implied she was guessing but The Doctor still smiled and nodded encouragingly

"Yup"

"Are you an alien?" Clara asked as she reached out to touch one of the rooms many intricate support beams.

"Yes, you alright with that" The Doctor had gone from indulgent to defensive in an instant.

"Fine" Clara shot back a little too quickly for The Doctors liking, she also snatched her hand away from the beam as if it had burnt her. The tiny human took a deep breath and tried again "yeah, I think I'm fine" she reassured him with a slightly wobbly smile.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing" he explained when she looked confused "T.A.R.D.I.S, that's time and relative dimensions in space" The Doctor began proudly prancing back and forth in front of the console.

His slight movements allowed Clara her first glimpse of just what The Doctor had done to the plastic Mickey's head and fake or not she couldn't prevent the sob that escaped her at the sight. Wires were stuck all over and into it, tying it into the futuristic machine.

"That's OK" The Doctor tried to reassure her thinking she was suffering from information overload. "Culture shock, happens to the best of us" he smiled.

"Are they dead?" Clara snapped feeling angry and hurt by just how blasé he was being while all she had left of one of her best friends was wired into his Tardy or whatever he called it.

"Who?" The Doctor sounded genuinely confused.

"Nina and Mickey" Clara was yelling now "Are. They. Dead?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that" he admitted truthfully.

"They're my friends, two of my best friends" Clara told him losing some of her anger "this living plastic stuff did goodness knows what to them, so that it could find you. You pulled Mickey's head off, so you could use him to find it and never occurred to you that the two of them might be dead?"

Silence rained in the wake of Clara's heartbroken outburst but it didn't last long because the observant young human suddenly noticed something the wise old alien missed.

"Doctor, the head, it's melting" she cried pointing at the plastic blob that had once bared a likeness to her friend.

The Doctor sprang into action, he raced around the console flipping switches, hitting buttons and yelling the whole time. Clara had no idea what he was doing but whatever it was made the whole room shake and grown.

"What are you doing?" she yelled grabbing the nearest rail in hopes of steadying herself.

"retrieving the signal" The Doctor snapped at her as if she should know that already "it's fading. Wait, I've got it" he yelled basking in his momentarily triumph but it passed quickly.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he was getting increasingly angry "almost there, we are almost there! Here we go" with that he raced past Clara and out of the door.

"Wait Doctor" the girl yelled after him "you can't go out there, it's not safe" the fake Nina was just outside the door, he was going to get himself killed. She hurried after him in hopes that she could pull him back into the relative safety of the box before the demented version of her friend got her plastic hands on him.

When Clara exited the door she nearly tripped over her own feet due to shock. They weren't in the shopping centre car park anymore they were on the Thames embankment.

"I lost the signal" The Doctor told her bitterly "I got so close too" he sighed.

"We moved" Clara gasped looking around her "How did we move? Can this thing fly?" she asked looking back at the box.

"Disappears from there, reappears here, you wouldn't understand" he said waving his hand dismissively.

"But if we are here, who is going to stop plastic Nina and headless Mickey from hurting anyone back there?" Clara demanded, she didn't like the thought of anyone getting hurt by those things while they were hunting for her and the Doctor.

"They probably both melted along with the head" The Doctor said using the same dismissive tone as before.

"I'm going to have to tell their families" Clara felt her heart break at the realization that it was going to fall to her to give two groups of people that she genuinely cared about the worst news of their lives.

The Doctor shot her a questioning look and Clara felt her recently suppressed temper rise again. "You know Nina and Mickey's families" she shouted "I have to tell everyone who loves them that they are dead and you just forgot about them, first it doesn't even occur to you that they could be dead then you forget about them like there nothing".

The Doctor gave her an are you done yet look and Clara realized she was, she was done with him and his people don't matter attitude. He could deal with whatever trouble he got himself into all by himself, she was going to go home and try to convince her family and friends to avoid plastic for the next few weeks at least.

"You, know what?" she seethed "I am fine with you being an alien, I really am but your disregard for human life, that, I can't handle" she practically spat at The Doctor before turning to leave.

"Look if I forgot your precious Mickey and Nina, it's because I'm trying to save the lives of every stupid ape blundering around on top of this planet, alright?" The Doctor yelled after the retreating girl as if his justification would fix things but to Clara it actually made things worst.

"No" she snapped turning to face him again "no, not alright, no one deserves to be thrown away and forgotten, no matter what is happening around them. Every lost should be mourned by someone" she told him trying to hold her tears at bay. "Everyone matters and everyone should be missed"

Clara's words hit The Doctor like a punch in the gut, he himself had used to say much the same thing. He had clearly been traveling alone for too long, he had always known he needed his companions for their humanity as much for their company but for so long he felt he didn't deserve either. Maybe it was time for that to change.

"Your right" he admitted softly and Clara immediately deflated, for a moment The Doctor was worried she was going to be swallowed by her grief once she no longer had her anger to hide behind, if she did that she would be useless to both him and her planet.

"Help me stop the living plastic Clara and I'll make sure this whole planet remembers Mickey and Nina's names for centuries to come" he bargained with her and was pleased to see her straighten up slightly, clearly steeling herself and returned to his side.

"One question" she said that wobbly smile from earlier was back again "If you really are an alien how come you sound like you're from up north" she asked taking off his accent almost perfectly.

Her attempt at levity was weak at best but it was also a sign of just how resilient Clara Oswald could be. "Lots of planets have a north" he told her with a genuinely warm smile.

"OK, how do we stop the living plastic" she said getting right down to business.

"Don't you want to know more about the TARDIS" The Doctor asked patting the box affectionately, he knew she was right, they should begin searching for the living plastic's base off operations but he also wanted to know Clara really was alright. She would need time to both adjust and pull herself together and him answering any questions she had would give her that.

"I'm assuming it's your ship" she shot back "and it looks like one of those old public call boxes the police used to use" she continued impressing him with her knowledge of somewhat obscure earth history. "What I don't get is why it looks like a police public call box?"

"It's a disguise" he grinned at her.

"Oh, OK then, back to the plastic how do we stop it" she asked again, more firmly this time.

"We have to find it first" The Doctor sighed "how can they hide something that big in a city this small" he muttered.

"Hide what, I can't help if I don't know what I am looking for" Clara reminded him.

"The transmitter, every single piece of plastic is being controlled by a consciousness somewhere in this city, for that it needs a transmitter" he explained.

"And what does this transmitter look like?" Clara pressed on. With her emotions, somewhat under control she was eager to help The Doctor but she was also completely out of her death. She needed him to be clear on exactly what he needed from her.

"Like a transmitter" he told her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Clara just looked at him for a moment before rising one eyebrow and making a circular motion with her finger, indicating that she needed more.

"Round and massive" he said expanding upon his earlier explanation, waving his arms about to emphasize just how big the transmitter would have to be. "And its slap bang in the middle of London".

Clara looked past The Doctor to the huge structure that loomed over them, the London eye.

"Like a giant metal disk" The Doctor continued, it seemed once you got him started there was no stopping him.

"Doctor-" Clara tried to interrupt him but it didn't work.

"Like a dish, like a wheel"

"Doctor" Clara tried again, louder this time but still he prattled on as if she hadn't said anything.

"Close to where we are standing, must be completely invisible" he finished in complete frustration.

Clara didn't say anything this time, instead she forcibly turned the large man to face the landmark that towered over them.

"What?" he asked looking down at the tiny woman and not up at what she was trying to show him"

"Doctor" Clara groaned and rolled her eyes before pointing directly at the monument she had been trying to show him.

The Doctor looked between Clara and the London eye before his manic grin appeared once more "Oh fantastic" he crowed and snatching up Clara's hand he raced off towards the giant Ferris wheel.

"What does this living plastic have against us anyway?" Clara panted as she and the Doctor ran through the streets of London hand in hand.

"Nothing" The Doctor said looking back to the girl who was slightly behind him "it loves you and your planet, so much so that it wants it for its self.

"Why?" Clara asked again, The Doctor racked his brain trying to remember if his past companions had asked so many questions then he scolded himself for thinking like that, Clara was not his companion. She was just a helpful human, that was it.

"Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, all the things the Nestene consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all it's protein planets rotted" he explained.

"So, it wants earth as a replacement" Clara concluded as they raced to their destination. She didn't need The Doctor to confirm she was right verbally the sad almost regretful look he gave her was enough. "So how do we stop it?" she asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

The Doctor pulled out a vial of liquid and waved it under the girl's nose "anti-plastic" he said sounding quite proud of himself.

"Anti-plastic" Clara repeated studying the vial "so this kills the creature that that is controlling the living plastic" she deduced in a slightly disapproving tone.

"More like neutralises it but yeah" The Doctor said sounding defensive again.

"You're not just going to waltz in there and kill it, are you?" Clara asked feeling anxious, she was a pacifist at heart and too many people had died already. She wasn't eager to add to the tally, even if the next casualty wasn't human.

"I'm not here to kill it" The Doctor reassured her "I've got to give it a chance to leave peacefully, I also have to find a way into it. The Nestene Consciousness should be under the transmitter but where?" he wondered looking around him.

"How about down there?" Clara said pointing to a small stair well that led to the service entrance.

"looks good to me" The Doctor agreed, taking Clara's hand in his to pull her along behind him once again, the possibility of leaving her outside never occurred to him.

They crept through the narrow underground hallways until they reached a large room filled with machinery, heat and smoke. In the centre of the room was what looked like a huge smelting pot full of moving, glowing goo.

"The Nestene Consciousness" The Doctor whispered in Clara's ear answering her unasked question "that's it in the vat, a living plastic creature".

"What do we do now?" Clara whispered back.

"Now" The Doctor said much louder "now Clara we talk to it".

The Doctor moved slightly closer to the vat, he was careful not to get close enough to pose the creature within it any threat. A stunned Clara watched on as he did exactly what he had said he was going to, he spoke to the slime. He used a tone that was both respectful and confident, the girl couldn't pretend to understand half of what he said but she was impressed none the less.

"I seek an audience with the Nestene Consciousness under a peaceful contract, according to the shadow proclamation" he announced.

The molten creature in the vat sploshed around and made an odd gurgling sound but The Doctor clearly understood it as he continued. "Thank you, might I have permission to approach?".

More sloshing and gurgling came from the vat, to Clara it all sounded very aggressive and threatening but it must have been positive because The Doctor confidently strode forward and waved his hand at her to do the same. As soon as Clara had moved further into the room she spotted two very familiar figures tied to the nearby railing, Nina and Mickey.

Mickey was cowering as close to the rail as he could get while Nina was stood tugging frantically at the thick ropes that held her in place.

"Oh, my stars" Clara gasped rushing past The Doctor to her friend's side. "Are you two OK?" she asked as she began to help them to get free.

"Yeah, we're alright" Nina said trying to reassure her clearly worried friend but Mickey wasn't having any of it.

"No, we're not" he contradicted "that thing down there" he cried pointing wildly with his now free hands "the liquid, it can talk Clara, it talks" the poor guy sounded completely terrified but Clara was just glad that he was alive, that they both were.

"Doctor, their alive" she called joyfully.

"That was always a possibility, keep them alive to maintain the copies" he replied never taking his eyes off the vat in front of him. He had always known that Clara's friends might still be alive but there was no way he was getting the girls hopes up. To give someone hope only to take it away again was just too cruel.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Clara demanded as she and Nina helped Mickey up.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you" The Doctor snapped at her. He needed to concentrate on the Nestene Consciousness and it was always safer for any humans involved with him to appear meaningless to his enemy's, they stayed alive longer that way.

Clara knew she should be angry with The Doctor but she had suffered through so many different emotions in such a short time that she suddenly found herself feeling almost pleasantly numb over the whole thing.

Numb or not Clara listened to The Doctor's continued negotiations with an intense interest, knowing the fate of the world could depend on what he said next. He was trying to convince the Nestene Consciousness to leave earth peacefully just as he had said he would. At first it seemed to be going well but the angry growls from the vat made it clear exactly when things started to go downhill.

As the Nestene Consciousness temper rose so did The Doctor's but that didn't last, he quickly switched from yelling to pleading. As Clara listened to The Doctor plead impassionedly on the earth behalf she was hit with a sudden realisation, it wasn't just the humans he wanted to save but the living plastic as well. He desperately didn't want to end its existence, The Doctor wanted to end the plastic invasion peacefully but the Nestene Consciousness wasn't having any of it.

The splashing and sploshing from the vat was becoming even more aggressive, even Clara could tell that and she didn't actually know what the creature was saying but The Doctor who apparently could understand every word did not see the treat until it was too late. Two smartly dressed manikins appeared behind him but he was so engrossed in his peace talks that he didn't seem to notice.

"Doctor, look out!" Clara yelled a warning and tried to run to his aid but Nina caught her by the arms and held her back.

"No Clara, those things are dangerous" she warned her friend.

"I know they are" Clara shot back, trying to wriggle out of her friend's tight grip "and they've got him, I have to help" she pleaded but Nina had no intention of letting her best friend get herself killed over some weirdo stranger.

While Clara and Nina had been arguing, the manikins had searched The Doctor and unfortunately for both him and the humans they had found the anti-plastic.

The Doctor tried to assure them that it was a last resort and he was never going to use it but they didn't believe him and their discovery of the TARDIS seemed to make the already terrible situation worse.

The Doctor struggled valiantly against his captors but they were too strong for him. It made Clara's heart hurt to listen to him as he tried to explain himself. It seemed the Nestene Consciousness blamed The Doctor for the war that had left it homeless and no matter how close to begging The Doctor came it would not listen to reason.

To Clara it made no sense, she didn't see how one man, even one as strange as The Doctor could be held solely responsible for what she assumed was an intergalactic war. "Doctor what's wrong?" she yelled from her position still in Nina's arms.

"It's the TARDIS" he shouted back still struggling against the plastic arms that held him, whereas Clara had given up any hope of getting away from Nina.

"It's identified it as superior technology and it's scared" he explained "actually it's terrified" he corrected himself "it's going to the final phase, it's starting the invasion"

"How do we stop it?" Clara demanded.

"You can't" The Doctor sounded so lost and defeated that Clara wanted to cry for him, she and her best friends were in grave danger but The Doctor was the one she was feeling for. "Get out, Clara" he ordered her "just leg it, take your friends and go".

Clara didn't want to leave The Doctor but Mickey and Nina didn't give her much choice, they were already pulling her towards the exit. "Wait" she pleaded with them "stop, please let me warn my Dad" she gasped out, he worked in an office, he may as well be sitting in a plastic box, if she didn't warn him he might die, she had already lost her Mum she could lose her Dad too.

"Oh No" Micky said firmly "we have got to keep going, even he said we should" he said pointing back towards The Doctor. Nina however gave a deep sigh and finally release her grip on her friend.

"There are people we should war too" she said thinking of her own family as she took out her phone. "I'm going to call my Mum, Clara's got her Dad covered" she paused to point at their tiny friend who already had her phone to her ear. "Why don't you see if you can get a hold of Rose and Jackie, warn them and tell them we love them, yeah?"

"If we do this, we might die" Mickey pointed out bluntly, he was pretty sure might was an understatement, if they stopped to call their loved ones now they would die here.

"If we don't make the calls, they might die" Nina shot back, Mickey didn't need to ask who she meant, he knew exactly who she meant and that ended any droughts he had. He gave a resolute nod quickly began searching his pockets for his own phone.

Clara was hoping beyond hope that she would reach her Father on her first try, normally she would get his voice mail at least twice, he was a busy man after all but she didn't have time for that today.

"Dave Oswald" he answered cheerfully and despite the situation she was in just hearing his voice made Clara feel a tiny bit better.

"Dad I need you to listen to me" she told him firmly "this is going to sound crazy but I need you to do exactly as I tell you, OK?" normally Clara would wait for some kind of response but not today. Today she just barrelled on barely pausing for breath. "You need to get yourself and anyone else that will listen to you as far away from anything plastic as you can" she explained.

"Clara what's going on?" Dave asked clearly worried.

"I don't have time to explain everything right now, just lock yourself in a toilet or a filing room please" she said hoping a large amount of porcelain or metal would offer him some protection "anywhere that is away from plastic" she reiterated.

"Clara love, your making no sense" her Dad was sounding really worried now.

"I know" Clara almost sobbed "Just do as I ask, please" she begged.

"OK" Dave agreed quickly, if it would make Clara feel better he would do just about anything.

"Thanks Dad" Clara sighed "I love you" she told him before abruptly hanging up, if there was any chance she was going to get attacked by possessed manikins she didn't want her Father to hear it.

Just as Clara got off of the phone strange blue lightning shot from the Nestene Consciousness in its vat up to the celling. "What the hell is that?" yelled Nina who had also finished with her call.

"It's the activation signal" The Doctor answered "It's transmitting"

As the room around them shook the three humans were filled with more fear than any of them had ever felt before. Nina who had always considered herself to be strong and brave couldn't stop trembling. Mickey felt a surge of protectiveness overcome his earlier terror and pulled his new girlfriend against his chest. "We'll be OK" he lied in an almost convincing manner.

"No, we won't" whimpered the girl that clung to him "it's the end of the world".

Clara couldn't help but agree with her friend assessment. The world was ending but she refused to cower in the face of it. She couldn't stop the tears that were rolling down her cheeks but over the years she had learnt to push her fears aside, so she stood with her stance firm and her back straight, if this was how her existence was to end she would face it without fear.

* * *

As the Nestene Consciousness signal spread throughout London every piece of plastic it encountered became a weapon in its war against humanity. In his office, Dave Oswald had been trying to talk his colleagues into joining him in the records room, which was mostly metal filing cabinets and had very little plastic involved.

Most of the men and women that he worked with thought he was nuts, that after so many years of teetering on the edge, old Dave had finally gone off the deep end.

Those that doubted him quickly changed their tunes when a desk phone launched its self at a passing employee and attempted to strangle them with its cord. Luckily the new temp could think on her feet, she knocked the phones plug out of the socket with a broom, then she cut the cord from the guy's neck using a nearby pair of scissors.

"I don't know about you lot" the temp announced "but I'm with Mr Oswald on this one, the records room sounds good to me".

It didn't take her and Dave long to usher everyone into the little room and most people had the sense to arm themselves with something or other that wasn't made of plastic. Once they were barricaded in all they could do was wait, weather they were waiting for the danger to pass or for an attack to come, none of them was quite sure.

* * *

The Doctor was still fighting the manikin's holding him but it was very hard to gain the upper hand against creatures that were incredibly strong and didn't feel pain. Glancing up he saw Clara and her friends hadn't gone anywhere.

The boy and girl were huddled together much like they had been when he and Clara had entered but now the boy was the one protecting the girl, it had been the other way around before. Clara was stood slightly away from them with her eyes never leaving the Nestene Consciousness, did she really think she could stare this creature down, that her bravery would earn her its respect and it would stop the attack. There were some races in the universe with whom that would work but not the Nestene Consciousness, she needed to go now if she was going to stand any chance of surviving.

"get out Clara" he yelled at her, fighting even harder in the face of the human girl's bravery. "Just get out, run".

His order finally had Clara looking away from the vat and turning her attention to her friends, she didn't want to leave the Doctor but she didn't want them dying because of her either.

"Come on, we've got to move" she told the couple, pushing them towards the exit. With Clara's urging Nina and Mickey moved quickly along the walk way but they weren't quite quick enough. A huge chunk of debris came crashing down on the stairs ahead of them, completely destroying them.

"The stair's, there gone" Nina gasped, stating the obvious.

"Come on, this way" Mickey hollered pulling both girls up the only stairs that were left intact, the stairs that led to the TARDIS. Both Nina and Mickey rattled at the doors but they remained locked tight.

"Clara do something" Nina demanded glancing over her shoulder at her friend, she had arrived with The Doctor guy, she had to know how to get the doors to the box open.

"I don't have a key" Clara said as she joined in rattling the door "there's nothing I can do".

Mickey sank to the ground bring both girls down with him, weather he was trying to protect them or his courage had given out again Clara wasn't sure.

"We're going to die" Nina started to cry and once again Mickey pulled his girlfriend into his embrace but this time he was trembling just as much as she was. Clara didn't tremble, not because she had decided to be brave but because she was sort of frozen with shock.

She was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her friends were in trouble, her father had hopefully locked himself away in a small safe room and The Doctor, her strange new sort of friend was being held prisoner by a pair of manikins that were being controlled by a psychotic vat full of plastic slime and there was nothing any she could do about any of it. Clara hadn't felt this helpless since she was 15 and lost her Mum, there was nothing she could have done then either.

A sudden realization washed over Clara, there was nothing she could have tried that would have saved her Mother but this was different, maybe this time there was something she could do. Maybe she could save Mickey and Nina and her Father and The Doctor, if she just tried. With that thought in mind Clara jumped to her feet and began to scan her surroundings for anything she that might help her save The Doctor and stop the invasion.

She noticed that one of the manikins holding The Doctor was also holding the anti-plastic. The Doctors struggles may not have gotten him free put it had pushed both him and his plastic guards closer the edge of the platform, Clara could work with that, she just needed to knock the manikin off balance enough that it would drop the anti-plastic into the vat. She didn't particularly like the idea of neutralising the Nestene Consciousness at first but now it seemed to be the only option. She just needed away to reach The Doctor and the manikins.

There was a chain attached from the ceiling, it hung down not far from where Clara stood but due to her small stature it was just out of her reach. "Mickey help me" she yelled pulling the tallest of her friends to his feet. "Grab me that chain" she ordered not giving him time to ask any questions.

Mickey looked at Clara as if she had gone mad but did as she asked, reaching over he pulled then chain close enough that Clara could take hold of the end of it.

Nina looked between Clara and the Doctor and she just knew what her friend was going to try. When they had been younger their friend Rose wasn't half bad at gymnastics so of course Nina and Clara had tried it too, Clara had never been any good at it and Nina didn't think that had changed recently.

"Clara if you are thinking what I think you're thinking, then stop right now" she ordered her friend.

"I'm thinking that right now I have nothing to lose" Clara told her and before Nina or Mickey could say or do anything to stop her, Clara took a running jump and swung herself towards The Doctor and the manikins.

Clara's heart was in her throat and she desperately wanted to close her eyes to try and keep her fear at bay but she knew that she couldn't. her aim wasn't very good, she knew as soon as her feet left the ground that she had timed her swing poorly and worst yet her hands were so sweaty that they were slipping, she wasn't going to be attached the chain for long so she was going to have to do everything she could to make this attempt count as she wasn't going to get another one.

As she lost her grip Clara somehow managed to land right on top of the manikin that was holding the anti-plastic. She sent it tumbling into the vat below but she also went with it. A fresh wave of terror rushed through her as she realized she was going to share the fate of the manikin that had gone before her, she just had time to finally give in and close her eyes before her descent suddenly stopped.

The Doctor had freed himself just in time to catch Clara before she and the Nestene Consciousness could get to be close friends. "I've got you Clara" he assured her as he pulled to safety and for the first time since leaving Mickey's flat Clara really and truly felt safe.

Sadly, the feeling didn't last, The Doctor was smiling that manic smile again and Clara was learning that could be a very bad thing.

"Oh boy" he laughed "We're in trouble now" he crowed pulling Clara away from the platform edge and towards the TARDIS as all hell began to break loose. Explosions rocked the room as the Nestene Consciousness imploded in on itself.

"Excuse me" The Doctor said pleasantly to Mickey and Nina when he and Clara reached the TARDIS "we need to be leaving" he told them as he opened the blue double doors.

In the records room of Dave Oswald's office, the door that was shielding the cowering workers finally stopped rattling on its hinges and the few plastic objects that were in the room ceased their relentless attacks. Cautiously Dave and his co-workers crept out of their hiding place to find the main office in complete disarray.

"OK" Dave sighed "let the clean-up begin" all around him people gawped in shock, they had just been attacked by their office supplies and Dave Oswald, the resident conspiracy nut was acting like nothing even slightly odd had happened.

Back on the south bank Mickey stumbled out of the TARDIS dragging Nina along with him. Clara followed at a much more sedate pace with a bright smile on her face and her phone in her hand. She was pretty sure she had just help to save London, if not the world but in that moment, nothing mattered to her more than making sure her Father was OK.

For the second time that day she got through to him on the first try.

"Clara love are you OK?" her Dad asked as soon as he picked up.

"I'm fine Dad" Clara almost laughed down the line, she was so relieved he was alright. Glancing over her shoulder she saw The Doctor leaning against the door frame of the TARDIS and smiling at her with a look in his eyes that could only be described as pride.

"Actually Dad, I'm great" she corrected herself "it has been a really weird day but everything is alright now" she told her Father brightly.

"I'm glad to hear it" Dave said and he did sound pleased but also a little baffled, Clara couldn't blame him. How could she explain all of the things that had happened to her in the last 24 hours?

"I'll see you soon Dad, love you, take care" she signed off warmly before hanging up and approaching her shaken friends.

Nina had once again taken over the role of protector, Clara couldn't help but smile at the two of them, the complemented then almost perfectly. When one of them gave into their weakness the other came into their strength, making them an awesome team.

"Are you two OK" she asked opening her arms to offer them a hug. Both Mickey and Nina rushed into their friend's arms, Clara was famous for her amazingly warm hugs.

"Yeah, we're OK" Nina reassured her.

"Speak for yourself woman" Mickey wined making both girls laugh, even though they knew he was only half joking.

The Doctor chose that moment to remind them of his presents. "The Nestene Consciousness, easy" he said snapping his fingers and grinning at them.

"You didn't do it all by yourself you know" Clara reminded him "we helped too" she pointed out.

"You helped" The Doctor countered "them not so much" he said pointing at both Nina and Mickey.

"You saved my life Clara" The Doctor admitted letting his cheery smile slip for the first time since they left the Nestene Consciousness behind. "Thank you" he said solemnly and Clara could tell he really meant it.

"Your very welcome Doctor" she smiled brightly "it was my pleasure".

"Well I best be off" The Doctor said almost sadly "unless you fancy coming along with me?" he asked Clara nervously. "This box isn't just a London hopper, you know" he powered on trying to sell Clara on the idea. "It goes anywhere in the universe, free of charge" he offered.

"Clara no" Mickey cut in before she could even think about saying anything. "He is dangerous and mad and dangerous" he rambled pointing almost accusingly at The Doctor. Nina couldn't help but laugh whole heartedly at her boyfriend's slightly panicked reaction.

"They are not inveighed" The Doctor said firmly, gesturing towards the hyperventilating boy and the chortling girl. "What do you think, do you want to stay here, find yourself a new job, settle down and live a nice safe life? Or do you want to go out and see the universe?" he asked her. For the first time since before the Time War he really wanted someone to come along with him, he wanted Clara Oswald to choose him.

"Is it always like this?" Clara wondered aloud, seriously considering his offer.

"What, with the running and the danger?" The Doctor clarified "Yeah, it's like that a lot" he admitted.

"I-I-I" as Clara searched for the right words The Doctor knew he had lost her. "I would love to" she admitted "but I can't, I have responsibilities here, I can't just leave" she sighed "I'm sorry"

"So am I" The Doctor replied "have a good life Clara Oswald, I'll see you again" he promised to himself as much as her before stepping back into the TARDIS and shutting the door behind him.

"You did the right thing Clara" Mickey assured her as soon as the blue box disappeared.

"Do you think so?" Clara asked feeling completely torn, she really had wanted to go with The Doctor but as always with her, her sense of responsibility had held her back.

"Actually no" Nina told her being brutally honest "for as long as I have known you Clara there has been two things that you couldn't resist, a lost soul in need of help and adventure. That man, alien, whatever he is, just offered you both of those things and you turned him down, I think you're crazy"

"I can't just up and leave Nina, you know that" Clara sighed.

The three young people were almost out of the alley when the strange noise Clara had come to associate with The Doctor and his TARDIS filled the air again.

As soon as the box had fully materialized The Doctor popped his head out of the door grinning "oh by the way Clara" he called out to her "did I mention it also travels in time?"

"Really?" she asked, if the ship really could travel in time she could have all the adventures she had dreamed of and still be there for those who needed her when they needed her.

"Really" The Doctor confirmed, giving the door he leant against a gentle pat and smiling more brightly than before.

"What are you waiting for" Nina urged her "go" she said literally giving her friend a push in the right direction.

Clara turned her back on The Doctor just long enough to hug Nina tightly. "Thanks Nina, you're the best" she said truly meaning it. "And you" the tiny brunet said fixing Mickey with a firm look "take care of her or else" she warned before giving the man a warm hug of his own. "Take care of yourself too" she murmured into his shoulder

"Will do" Mickey promised "you be careful OK" he added.

"Will do" Clara said mimicking Mickey just to make her friends laugh one last time before she left. Then feeling lighter that she had in years she took off running towards both The Doctor and all the adventures he had offered her.

Clara Oswald, the girl that had dreamed of seeing the world was off to see so much more, 101 adventures in time and space lay before her and she couldn't wait to begin.

Little did she know that she would find so much more on her journey that just adventure.

* * *

AN2: so, there you go episode one of my Clara as the Ninth Doctors first companion series 1. As I have said before just because she is the first person to travel with The Doctor doesn't mean she will be the only one, a second very important companion will be joining them soon. I have to confess I not sure how long the wait for the next episode will be but I hope it won't be too long, so watch this space. Thank you for taking the time to read, I would really love to know what you thought of this as I pretty sue it is the longest chapter I have ever written (it took me 5 days to type it all out).

Thanks again

Millie xXx


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